NEWARK, NJ — At today’s regularly scheduled meeting of the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors, Executive Director James Weinstein unveiled the agency’s new “Scorecard” initiative and asked for the help of its customers in providing the public with a measurement of how the corporation is performing.

The “Scorecard” initiative will use metrics to set corporate-wide standards of accountability and create transparency for the public, helping NJ TRANSIT make strategic decisions to maximize its resources as well as illustrating how the agency is managing its commitment to excellence.In addition, the Scorecard will show the agency’s strengths and weaknesses, providing clear insight into where NJ TRANSIT needs to improve in order to provide a greater return to the taxpayer.

“By committing to this effort, we will hold up the Scorecard as the standard by which we get measured by the people who use our system every day,” said Weinstein.

A system of metrics is currently in development to provide a baseline for measuring NJ TRANSIT’s performance in the areas of customer service, safety and security, financial health and service accountability.The baseline will also incorporate information gathered from quarterly customer surveys, marking the first time in NJ TRANSIT’s history that the agency will be conducting systemwide customer satisfaction surveys on a regular, ongoing basis.

“We intend for the Scorecard to be a living, breathing document, one that requires customer input to feed it and make it work,” said Weinstein.“To that end, we encourage our customers to get involved and let us know about their experiences riding our system.”

Starting today, customers may pre-register at njtransit.com for the first customer survey, which will be conducted in April.

NJ TRANSIT will launch the Scorecard in July to coincide with the corporation’s new Fiscal Year 2012.Scorecard results will be reported and updated quarterly on njtransit.com.

While the system of metrics is still being finalized, NJ TRANSIT’s performance measures will include:

Customer Service:Customer satisfaction ratings for NJ TRANSIT services and other measures such as the average time it takes to process a customer inquiry and on-time performance for the system’s bus, rail, light rail and Access Link service.

Safety and Security:Data provided by Operations and the NJ TRANSIT Police Department quantifying the safety and security of customers and our system.

Service and Accountability:Revenue per hour, ridership, fare stability and Disadvantaged and Small Business Enterprise goals.

To support the Scorecard effort, NJ TRANSIT will also measure performance by department using Key Operating Measures or Department Performance Indicators to provide essential information to department heads on a daily, monthly and quarterly basis.These measures are intended to provide a comprehensive picture of how NJ TRANSIT is functioning, as well as to provide employees of each department with a clear sense of how they can individually succeed and support the agency’s broader goals.

“I am confident that this initiative will give us the ability to make meaningful management decisions on a daily basis and focus on what is most important, giving us a tie-in to the customer experience,” said Weinstein.“As a public transportation agency, effective management comes from measuring ourselves in critical areas so that we can best serve our customers, who in turn provide the ultimate measure of our performance.”

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 12 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 165 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.